SupplyRequest — Supply request

The supply order of a consumable, device or non-pharmaceutical product from a care team to the central pharmacy, the logistics service or an external supplier. Request counterpart of SupplyDelivery.

Purpose of the resource

The logistical flow of a healthcare facility rests on daily supply requests from every ward: x syringes, y gauze, z dressing kits, n specific devices for a scheduled procedure. SupplyRequest structures that request.

Distinct from a MedicationRequest (patient prescription) and a ServiceRequest (service order), SupplyRequest targets generic or targeted consumables.

Key fields

Field	Type	Cardinality	Role
`identifier`	Identifier[]	0..*	External identifiers.
`status`	code	0..1	`draft`, `active`, `suspended`, `cancelled`, `completed`, `entered-in-error`, `unknown`.
`category`	CodeableConcept	0..1	Category (central, non-stock…).
`priority`	code	0..1	`routine`, `urgent`, `asap`, `stat`.
`deliverFor`	Reference(Patient)	0..1	Patient for whom the supply is requested.
`item`	CodeableReference(Medication \| Substance \| Device \| DeviceDefinition \| BiologicallyDerivedProduct \| NutritionProduct \| InventoryItem)	1..1	Requested item.
`quantity`	Quantity	1..1	Quantity.
`parameter`	BackboneElement[]	0..*	Specific parameters (size, gauge, model…).
`occurrence[x]`	dateTime \| Period \| Timing	0..1	Expected date.
`authoredOn`	dateTime	0..1	Creation date.
`requester`	Reference(Practitioner \| PractitionerRole \| Organization \| Patient \| RelatedPerson \| Device)	0..1	Requester.
`supplier`	Reference(Organization \| HealthcareService)[]	0..*	Expected supplier.
`reason`	CodeableReference[]	0..*	Reason.
`deliverFrom`	Reference(Organization \| Location)	0..1	Delivery origin.
`deliverTo`	Reference(Organization \| Location \| Patient)	0..1	Destination.

JSON example

ICU ward requests 50 21G syringes from the central pharmacy for 14:00 delivery:

json supplyrequest-example.json

{
  "resourceType": "SupplyRequest",
  "id": "syringe-request-1234",
  "identifier": [{ "system": "http://hospital.example/orders", "value": "SR-2026-08754" }],
  "status": "active",
  "category": {
    "coding": [{
      "system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/supplyrequest-kind",
      "code": "central",
      "display": "Central Supply"
    }]
  },
  "priority": "routine",
  "deliverFor": { "reference": "Patient/example" },
  "item": {
    "concept": {
      "coding": [{
        "system": "http://snomed.info/sct",
        "code": "419772005",
        "display": "Syringe with hypodermic needle"
      }]
    }
  },
  "quantity": { "value": 50, "unit": "count" },
  "parameter": [{
    "code": {
      "coding": [{
        "system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/supply-parameter",
        "code": "gauge"
      }]
    },
    "valueCodeableConcept": {
      "coding": [{
        "system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/needle-gauge",
        "code": "21G"
      }]
    }
  }],
  "occurrenceDateTime": "2026-05-16T14:00:00+02:00",
  "authoredOn": "2026-05-16T09:00:00+02:00",
  "requester": { "reference": "Practitioner/nurse-anna" },
  "supplier": [{ "reference": "Organization/central-pharmacy" }],
  "reason": [{
    "concept": {
      "coding": [{
        "system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/supplyrequest-reason",
        "code": "patient-care",
        "display": "Patient Care"
      }]
    }
  }],
  "deliverFrom": { "reference": "Organization/central-pharmacy" },
  "deliverTo": { "reference": "Location/icu-room-101" }
}

Typical use cases

Daily restocking: wards to central pharmacy / logistics.
HHC supply: home delivery of material.
Stock management: automatic restocking on low threshold.
Pre-op: specific surgical kit ordered for a patient.
HAS (Hospital Supply): emergency logistic chain in crisis (COVID, shortages).

Common pitfalls

No quantity: quantity is 1..1. Without quantity, the request is not executable.
Ambiguous item: "syringe" without gauge / size / type makes the order ambiguous. Use parameter to add constraints.
Stuck status: a SupplyRequest left as active after delivery creates noise. Move to completed upon corresponding SupplyDelivery receipt.
Priority forgotten: for the logistic chain, distinguishing urgent from routine is critical.
Confusion with MedicationRequest: SupplyRequest targets consumables; for a prescribed drug, use MedicationRequest.

SupplyDelivery — execution.
MedicationRequest, ServiceRequest, DeviceRequest — other request types.
InventoryItem — stock item.
Patient, Location, Organization.

Foundations

Standards

Flagship messages

Tools

SupplyRequest — Supply request

Purpose of the resource

Key fields

JSON example

Typical use cases

Common pitfalls

SupplyRequest — Supply request

Purpose of the resource

Key fields

JSON example

Typical use cases

Common pitfalls

Related resources